The people have spoken
Even those who had laboured hard to put up a brave face in defence of the Awami League government's performance over the last eighteen or so months have now gone on record in calling the debacle for the ruling party at the recently held Mayoral election in Chittagong as a strong verdict against its misrule.
In fact some in the party hierarchy have publicly admitted this, surely much to the chagrin of those who want to dismiss the outcome as a judgment against the party's candidate only. Senior Awami League leader Obaidul Kader has publicly advised the party leadership to take lessons from the election.
Historically Mayoral elections in Dhaka and Chittagong have always had a national significance, although these are in theory local body polls. This one was no exception, as was reflected clearly in the build up towards the polls.
The public frustration with this government has now become real. Failure to provide basic human needs like water, electricity and gas have evoked sharp reaction among the people across the country. Added to this, there has been a sharp decline in law and order, a back-breaking rise in prices of basic essentials, all-round corruption and nepotism and an increase in the activities of party activists and its various fronts all over the country, especially within the educational institutions.
Its poor governance and undemocratic character has also found vivid reflection in its zero tolerance for criticism, as manifested in the pattern of its attacks on both print and electronic media, including the arrest of the editor of a major Bangla language daily, which has brought back horrifying memories of the past. The failure to deliver the pledges made before the 2008 parliamentary elections has added to public resentment with this government.
The situation with the minority group had become an important issue in terms of the voters there to a point where even the prime minister, reportedly, had to make personal telephone calls to reputed leaders of the minority community seeking their support for the AL-backed candidate.
This was necessitated by comments from them on how much the community, as a whole, has suffered under the Awami league mayor over the years. The result indicates that the minority community may not have voted for the AL.
Conversely, the opposition BNP can take comfort in its assessment that the margin of the victory for the party backed mayor-elect Manjurul Alam is an endorsement of its own conduct as a political party over the last eighteen months. It could also view the outcome as public support for its political action programs in protest against the government's misrule. This feeling gets further reinforced by the results of the elections of councilors, where almost two-thirds were won by BNP backed candidates.
The Jamaat, too, can take comfort from the result. As many as three of the elected councilors are Jamaat backed as against only one in the outgoing City Corporation, representing a three-fold increase in representation. Besides, Jamaat had also endorsed Manjurul Alam for mayor by withdrawing its own mayoral candidate.
The voter turnout in the Chittagong City Corporation election, however, raises serious questions about the figures given for the 2008 Parliamentary polls. This time the known voter turn out was just above 54%, whereas the figures for 2008 was shown as abnormally and unbelievably high as 98% and in some centres it even exceeded 100%! Traditionally, voters in Bangladesh have shown far greater enthusiasm at the local polls than in parliamentary elections.
The Chittagong City polls had been an issue of national attention for quite a long time. The media and political focus on it had been massive. Public interest was expectedly huge and the voting was not affected by adverse weather conditions. Queues of voters were long throughout the day. Importantly, Chittagong is an urban area where voter turnout is always much higher than in the rural areas. Assuming that the figures given for Chittagong are accurate, it clearly validates the questions that were raised by the BNP with the voter turnout figures for the 2008 Parliamentary polls.
Most observers feel that the role of the Election Commission was relatively less controversial this time than at any time in the recent past. That, however, still does not explain the delays in announcing the results, especially when one considers that this time the polls were limited to only one City Corporation area that comprised of six hundred and seventy three voting centers only.
Some have suggested that the conduct of the Chittagong City Corporation election may serve as an indication that it is possible to carry out fair elections in Bangladesh under a political government. Some "intellectual" discourse might already have been set in motion advocating this line of thought and do away with the caretaker form of government, especially given the bitter experience of the last military controlled interim administration that impersonated as a caretaker government.
To those with selective amnesia, let us recall that the demand for a neutral, non-party caretaker government for conducting national elections was not halted even when results of similar city corporation polls in Dhaka and Chittagong went against the then ruling party back in 1994. If anything, experience of the recent past, Chittagong notwithstanding, strongly justifies the continuation of the caretaker system.
What is needed is a national consensus to ensure that it is applied and practiced in the letter and spirit of the provisions in the country's constitution and not tempered with to suit individual whims and ambitions. This may not sound as a flattering commentary on our political culture, but it is a fact of life. Let us also not ignore the reality that even in Chittagong there was sufficient room for improvement.
Finally, the outcome of the Chittagong City Corporation has proven once again that, given a fair chance, the people of this democracy-loving nation will express their mind on whom to trust with their destiny. None should tamper with their democratic right to choose who they feel can best protect their interests.
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